It’s not just Big Bell Think, many of the mobile carriers have come up with new and novel ways to do the same sort of blocking perfectly legitimate uses, often basing it on “our system won’t allow that.”

As a long term user of mobile services (from my original IMTS units through AMPS and on to assorted TDMA, GSM, and CDMA units), and having designed for years the interfaces between the mobile carriers and the landline networks they connected with, the imaginary limitations the various carriers instituted for business purposes rankled.

Many of those limitations are still applied to their customers by almost all of the mobile carriers.

Often times it is even just small things. As an example, on older Sprint handsets, one could easily use the handset as a modem in an emergency by simply paying for the usage. Now days Sprint has managed to block that sort of emergency use unless one signs up for a continuing monthly fee “just in case.”

Customers simply wanting to change from one handset to another are still being forced to change plans “because our system requires it” according to Sprint.

Customers using handsets from companies such as Helio (now Virgin) or Qwest, tied to the Sprint network, are not allowed to use those 100% Sprint compatible handsets if they change from a Brand X account to a Sprint account - even if the same set is offered by Sprint.

It’s not just Big Bell Think - the “modern” mobile service carriers have gone above and beyond to invent newer and more complex ways to inhibit any and all uses they have not blessed.

Sorry for the negative comment, but from the customer side it’s not Big Bell, but the dog-in-the-manger mobile carriers doing it quite well all by themselves.

Tom
(Retired from Bell)